All's Fair in Love and War
by Rose Stetson
Summary: What if Pete Shanahan never really existed . . .NOMINATED FOR 2007 STARGATE FAN AWARDS!
1. Samantha

_**All's Fair in Love and War**_

_By Rose Stetson_

_Spoilers: None_

_Format: Alternate Universe_

_Pairing: Maybe it'll be Sam and Jack, and maybe, it just won't work out. (I have to keep the suspense somehow!)_

* * *

Sam sat across from Jack, and that infuriated her. She knew that he wasn't paying any attention at all, but did he have to drag her into his games? Of course, dragging her into his games was never difficult . . . But that wasn't the point! She was mad at him, and certainly felt justified.

But in reality, it was more than the fact that he played games with her during meetings. It was the fact that outside of the meetings, he was playing games with her heart.

Though she was certain that he cared for her- not just as another member of the team, but as a woman- he seemed unwilling to do anything about it.

Ugh, she thought, why not!

A siren went off in her head. Um, hello! Wake up and smell the frat regulations!

Men, she thought, can't live with them, can't live without them.

She just couldn't bring herself to accept that the frat regs were the only reason that Jack hadn't made a move. After all, Jack always found a way to get what he wanted, no matter what rules were bent and disregarded in the process. Besides, General Hammond had hinted a few times that the regs could be . . . manipulated . . . for the staff of the SGC.

What did she have to do? Get them stranded on another planet for so long that they forgot about regulations, work, fears . . .

She began doodling on the legal pad in front of her. Surely she could think of something! After all, she was a brilliant astrophysicist who had made numerous contributions to the scientific community.

Who was she kidding? This was a completely different ballgame.

"SG-1, good work. Now, I don't want to see you anywhere near the base for at least three days."

Sam looked up to see the General stand up. Likewise, she and the other members of the team did so. As Hammond entered his office, Jack turned to his team.

"So, who's up to go fishing?"

Daniel and Teal'c groaned, but Sam had to restrain herself from accepting.

"What? You all afraid of spending some quality time with me?"

Sam laughed. "No sir, actually I have plans."

Her words shocked herself as well as the male members of her team.

"Carter, don't tell me that you're gonna stick around the base and play with your doohickeys!"

How'd he guess? She wondered, pouting inwardly.

"Actually, sir, I have a date."

Oh man, she wanted to hide under a rock after the words left her mouth. Instantly, Jack, Daniel and Teal'c were staring at her.

"What's his name?" Jack asked, casually.

"Pete."

She could not believe that she was actually lying to her CO.

"Pete-?" Daniel prompted.

"Shanahan." Sam responded.

He'd been Mark's best friend in high school, and she had dated him casually before she went to the Gulf. As far as she knew, he was a cop in California with a wife and two kids.

"Oh," came Jack's casual response.

"Yeah, we've been dating for about a month now."

She was so lying; she hadn't even seen the outside of the SGC in more than a month.

"Really? I thought you spent a lot of time in the lab."

"Oh, I go home just like the rest of you, sir. I'm just not as open about my plans."

"Well, enjoy yourself, Carter. Don't do anything that I wouldn't do."

As Jack left, Sam's heart sank. Maybe she was wrong.

* * *

_Please review so that I can keep writing! I think it will be a good story, but I won't know until I hear from you. So go ahead and pushe the little button. Everybody else is doing it!_


	2. Jack

_Thank you for the many wonderful comments I have received about Chapter 1. I hope you will continue to like my vision. It's one of those stories that have just been screaming to get out of my mind and heart and into your minds and hearts. Keep reviewing; I love knowing what you think!_

* * *

Jack hurried out of the Briefing room.

She's dating someone! His thoughts screamed.

Thoughts continued racing through his head. Why didn't I know before? Why did I have to find out at all?

Things were so much simpler when he thought she practically lived at the lab.

Of course, he knew it was only going to be a matter of time before she decided to be seriously involved with someone. For heaven's sake, she was the best woman on the face of the planet. Any man not able to see that was blind.

If only there weren't any stupid frat regs! He kept telling himself that he didn't want to ruin her career, but it was more than that. He was afraid to finally tell her how he felt, just in case she didn't feel the same way.

Well, he thought, the most important thing is that she's happy. If she is, I'm not going to mess it up by throwing myself at her feet.

So, with a deep breath, Jack got into the elevator and left the SGC. But his heart never left.

* * *

_Again, just push the little periwinkle-colored button. That's all it takes . . . _

Sorry it's so short. I think this story will be in a lot of bite-sized chunks . . . it'll be better this way, just like Chocolate . . . Hmmm.


	3. Bad Day

_I just wanted to thank you for all of your wonderful reviews. Like I said earlier, some of these chapters are really short, and I'm sorry. I'm going to try to make it up to you by posting a longer chapter today as well._

_Just think of chocolate. Sometimes it's better when it's in small doses._

* * *

Sam had no choice but to leave her precious lab for the duration of her leave, due to her lie.

As she entered her home, she was overwhelmed with the feeling of how nice it was to be in her own home again, not just in base quarters. She liked her comfy and modern apartment, decorated in dark greens and light blues.

But, it was a bad day. She reminded herself.

She went to her room and changed from her jeans and t-shirt to some sweats. She wasn't in the best of moods, though actually being home helped a little.

She went into the kitchen. She got her blue jell-o and a couple of sappy chick flicks, and sat down on her couch.

Only then, she let her tears fall.

* * *

_To Be Continued . . . _

_It'll get better, eventually, I hope. Just keep reviewing, and I'll keep writing, so that I can end your overwhelming suspense!_


	4. Decisions

_A Couple of Weeks Later:

* * *

_

It was Samantha's birthday. Jack nervously looked at the jewelry in front of him. He was afraid to get a ring, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable, but she didn't wear necklaces, bracelets, or even earrings often enough for him to justify any of those.

Finally, he saw it: the perfect thing! It was a locket, in the shape of a heart. He bought it and left the store, heading to the SGC for her surprise birthday party. It was Daniel's idea, and they had left the decorating to him. It would probably be some ancient culture theme, he thought. I've got to remember not to let him plan her party next time.

The traffic out of Denver was unbelievable, and suddenly, his nervousness turned to agitation turned inwardly to himself.

O'Neill, he thought, you never give up on what you want! So, why are you giving up on her?

Because you're scared. Because of Sara and Charlie. His subconscious screamed.

He had loved them, unashamed, but they were no longer a part of his life, and it was his fault. He would always remember the pain in Sara's eyes after his double had forced them to make contact with one another again.

But there was a certain amount of pain in Samantha's eyes too, he thought.

"Wishful thinking." He muttered to himself.

Perhaps jewelry wasn't a good idea. Maybe he should return the locket and get her a pair of bunny slippers or something less associated with established relationships.

But, he thought, this might be your last chance. Shanahan's not going to wait forever before he asks her to marry him.

Just before he reached Cheyenne Mountain, he decided to go for it. Screw the flippin' frat regs, he thought. If he needed to, he would retire, or Sam might want to leave the military part of the SGC and go to being a civilian scientist or something. Darn it, he was going to ask her out!

He walked into the Multi-Purpose room in time to see Janet and Daniel put the final touches on the decorations. It wasn't ancient-culture-oriented, and Jack was grateful for that small miracle. But, he had never seen Daniel or Janet in such high spirits. They were laughing and goofing around, shamelessly. He could swear that something was going on between them.

"Having a good time, I see."

Janet turned around. "Oh, hi Colonel. Yeah, we were just . . ."

She looked at Daniel, helplessly, and he was trying not to just burst out laughing.

Jack smiled. "Yeah, I thought so."

He looked around at the balloons and crepe paper. Then, he saw the sign. Happy Birthday to the Best Astrophysicist in the Universe!

"No fair, you guys, you read my card!" Jack joked.

"Oh, so Hallmark makes a line of cards specifically for Astrophysicists, huh?" Janet asked, trying not to just double over, laughing.

"Or did you find someone who could tell you how to spell astrophysicist?" Daniel asked, pausing often to catch his breath.

"Okay, you guys. You're sounding like you had a little bit too much fun with the hydrogen. Did you inhale a little bit?"

They laughed harder.

"Sorry, Jack. It's just . . ."

Jack nodded. "Uh huh. I'll go and find Sam and distract her until you two can calm down and the party starts."

As he left, he could have sworn that Daniel asked: "Distract her with what?"

The giggling ended, and Jack was sure that they were gossiping about him and Sam now.

"Get your mind out of the gutter!" He called.

Just then, the giggling continued, Jack shook his head, and continued toward Sam's lab.

* * *

_There you are, the fourth chapter of "All's Fair in Love and War." You know what to do now . . ._


	5. I Love Him

_Well, for those of you who like your chocolate in larger doses, here's a longer chapter. Since I've broken the story down into a series of short scenes, I'm trying to go for the emotions that keep plaguing their relationship- Go figure- and give them a greater depth romantically than they have in the series. Hence the reason that it's Alternate Universe format!_

_And, if you couldn't tell already, I'm an avid Sam and Jack shipper._

* * *

Sam was in her lab, studying the latest piece of technology that they had acquired from the Tok'ra. Unfortunately, her thoughts were on Jack. Why wouldn't he leave her thoughts? 

She was hoping that by making up Pete Shanahan that Jack would have to confront his feelings for her. After all, that's what happened every time she saw him with Kynthia or Laira. Suddenly, she was forced to admit just how much she cared for him. And how much it would crush her if he didn't care for her.

Now, that didn't mean that it was easy for her to admit that. No, she had fought those feelings, stubbornly, but in the end, she gave up her feelings of stubbornness in that area of her heart.

Of course, that didn't mean that she had to advertise her feelings.

Nevertheless, she would be lying if she didn't admit to herself that she would never refuse a romantic relationship with Jack.

There was a knock on the door, and Sam turned around to find Jack. "Oh, hi Colonel."

"So, what's this doohickey?" He asked, stalling as he approached her workstation.

Oh, he was so close to her. His arm brushed hers and her heart fluttered.

"It's just one of the goa'uld communication devices. I'm studying it."

"Oh."

She was kind of disappointed that he didn't ask her any questions about it. It was really funny how much she liked explaining some of the phenomena that encompassed them in the SGC.

"Aren't you going to ask me what it does?"

He looked at her, and blinked in surprise. "Carter, I've seen one of these before, remember? Teal'c described it to us when we were on Apophis's ship."

"Right." She said.

Of course she remembered. After all, they should have been court-martialed after that mission. It had been Daniel's idea, and Jack had gone along with it. Then, he had asked her if she wanted to go with them. But since Jack asked her, she couldn't exactly say no. If they hadn't done what they did . . .

She shuddered to even think about that.

"Carter, are you feeling all right?"

She looked into his dark, chocolate-colored eyes. She felt her knees go weak and her heart flutter. Her eyes almost closed, anticipating a kiss or something.

"Carter?"

She opened her eyes, and the moment fled.

"I'm fine, sir. Just thinking about that mission. It was one of the more stressful ones."

He snickered. "Nothing like having the fate of the world on your shoulders and a court-martial awaiting your return."

"At least we won on both accounts."

"Well, we only won the last because there was no court-martial."

"Yeah, can you imagine telling our grandkids that we saved the world, but got kicked out of the military for doing it?"

Her face flushed when she realized her implication. Jack's bewildered face showed that he had caught her slip.

"Well, sir, I mean . . ."

Jack nodded. "I know what you mean. Not _our_ grandkids, but our _grandkids._"

She nodded, but her heart screamed in contradiction. No, Jack, we're supposed to grow old together, and we're supposed to have lots of kids who have lots of kids!

There was an awkward pause, and Jack broke it. "Uh, Sam, there's something I wanted to ask you."

She looked up, hope entering her heart again.

"Yeah?"

"Do you . . . want to take a walk?"

Her heart began to sink, but she refused to lose hope altogether, so she fostered the tiny flame of hope that still flickered in her heart.

"Sure."

* * *

_Well, there's chapter 5! Hope you enjoy! Now, just keep pushing the little button below, and you'll keep me and my muse happy! Hey, don't forget to put some ideas of what you want (nothing over a PG-rating, please!) to see happen in the next few chapters. My ideas are starting to wane . . ._


	6. SuperSoldier Jack O'Neill is Scared

_All right, here's another chapter in the strangest shipper story that I've ever written about Sam and Jack._

* * *

He couldn't do it! He couldn't believe that he couldn't do it!

He had saved the world more times than he could count, and he was afraid of asking her out?

When she had mentioned grandkids, he nearly fell over. (It was his bad knee, of course!) He hadn't expected her to say anything so suggestive of a future relationship and so, when she blushed, correcting herself, he had played along.

But he couldn't bring himself to really believe that it was a misunderstanding. Surely, she loved him!

Often, when he got to this point in a relationship with a woman, he heard the voices of various fellow servicemen.

_O'Neill, you really think you can hook up with that beauty? Dude, I thought you were smarter than that!_

_Yeah, she's one hot broad, O'Neill. Better let me handle her!_

_Jack, don't listen to them. Just listen to your old pal Kawalski. Go ask her out. The worst she can do is say no._

Or kick my butt, he thought.

_Oh, is she too tough for little Jackie O'Neill. Well, I'll take care of her._

"Sir, where are we going?"

He turned to her. "Why do you ask?"

"Because Daniel and Janet are hiding around the corner watching for us, I think."

The sudden flurry of footsteps was heard. In his absence of thought, he was taking her right to the multi-purpose room!

Think quickly, O'Neill, he thought. You can get yourself out of this mess.

He saw a janitorial closet nearby. He opened the door.

"Quick, get in!" He whispered.

"Sir, it's a closet!"

"I know, but Daniel and Janet have um . . ."

He thought for a minute. "They're on a coffee high and they're playing hide-and-seek with anyone that's still on the base."

She crossed her arms. "Janet doesn't drink coffee."

Jack bit his lip, thinking up another excuse. "Well, she has been converted to Daniel's three-step program: Pour coffee, drink coffee, repeat."

She laughed and entered the closet. "That's only for the creativity of your explanation."

* * *

_Now, just let me know what you think, oh, and read the next chapter! In that order, please! Thank you!_


	7. The Predicament

_All right, Campers, here's an extra looooong chapter! Enjoy!

* * *

_

As she entered the closet, her heart started beating faster and faster.

Stop acting like a teenager, she thought.

There aren't any cameras in here, a voice in her head whispered.

And her heart continued beating faster!

* * *

Jack closed the closet door, and turned on the light. He turned around and his eyes widened in surprise. She was centimeters away from him.

He was filled with an overwhelming urge to kiss her, propose to her, anything to tell her how much he loved her.

The locket was in his pocket. He could easily propose and retire later.

What are you thinking, O'Neill? He thought. You can't even ask her to dinner, but you want to ask her to marry you?

* * *

"So, Carter, what are your plans? I mean, today is your birthday."

"Well, Pete and I are going out for the evening."

Now, what on earth possessed her to say that? What if Jack wanted to take her out?

On the other hand, what boyfriend ignored his girlfriend's birthday and lived to tell the tale? If she was going to keep up this charade, it was necessary to say that Pete was taking her out. Hopefully, Jack's jealousy would finally emerge.

* * *

He was crushed, absolutely crushed. "Well, I hope you enjoy the evening. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

He looked into her clear, blue eyes. There was something there. In fact, he could have sworn that she was disappointed.

"Why'd you ask, Sir?"

Uh, good question, he thought.

"Once you get old like me, nothing exciting ever happens."

Did that really just come out of his mouth? He thought, bracing himself for her reaction.

"Sir, you're not that old! In fact, I find gray attractive."

She ran her fingers through his short, gray hair.

His heart started racing in anticipation.

* * *

She stopped herself. What was she doing? Was she professing her love? Was she just insane?

Yes, on both accounts. She could be so fired for this!

And what was that comment about finding gray attractive? She asked herself.

The truth, she responded.

"What are your plans for the weekend?" Jack asked, hoarsely.

"Pete's going to California for a few days."

Why on Earth did she keep mentioning her non-existent boyfriend!

"What's he doing in California?"

Uh, good question, how do I answer that?

"He's interviewing for a job with the LAPD."

Jack's eyes widened. "Really!"

* * *

Okay, he thought, this is either good news or bad news.

Either she and Pete are breaking up or they're so serious that Sam's willing to leave the SGC.

His heart flopped from absolute ecstasy to impenetrable depression.

"So, Pete's thinking about moving from Colorado to California, huh?"

Sam nodded. "Do you and the guys want to come to my house for dinner? We'll just hang out."

Uh-oh! This sounds like a farewell party!

"Carter, would you ever consider leaving the SGC?"

"If the conditions were right, Sir."

He nodded, dejected. "Wouldn't we all."

* * *

She didn't understand his disappointment. She had just declared how much she loved him! After all, she was willing to leave her dream job for him. After all, she didn't want those pesky regulations interfering in her personal life forever.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Daniel appeared.

"Uh, sorry."

Jack walked out of the closet and helped Sam out too.

"What do you need, Daniel?"

"General Hammond ordered us to put the extra lab equipment in the multi-purpose room so that it didn't interfere with the stuff in the lab right now. I thought you might want to be involved."

She nodded, frustration building. Once again, Daniel had managed to walk in at an inopportune time!

She hurried toward the multi-purpose room, leaving the men behind her.

She could have sworn, however, that she heard Daniel chuckle. "Distract her, Jack? I think you did a pretty good job."

* * *

He could have slugged Daniel!

"You got her into a closet?"

"Daniel, drop it! If you and Janet hadn't been spying on us . . ."

"And if you hadn't been heading straight for the multi-purpose room, we wouldn't have been spying."

Jack turned. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Okay! When you said you'd distract her, you piqued our curiosity."

Oh man, he thought, here we go again!

"I told you to get your mind out of the gutter!"

"Yeah, but that only got us more interested . . ."

Suddenly, there was a squeal.

"Was that Sam?" Daniel asked, satisfactorily.

"No, it was General Hammond!"

Duh, he thought, though Sam isn't much of a squealer. Maybe I should try and get her to do it again sometime.

"What was me?" General George Hammond asked, coming up behind Daniel and Jack.

Great! He thought.

"Nothing, sir." He replied as Daniel ducked into the party, laughing.

* * *

_Now, please, Please, PLEASE review! I have to know what you think!_


	8. A Little Bitterness

_Here you are, a little more action, and a little angst. I'm sorry! There has to be a way to keep the tension somehow. Especially after the last few mushy scenes that I've put up.

* * *

_

_A few weeks later . . ._

They had walked into an ambush. All of the members of SG-1 had received some kind of injury, but Sam had been hit the worst.

Jack had held his own; Teal'c took care of himself and Daniel, but when Jack looked over toward Sam, he felt physically ill. She had been hit by a staff blast in her right leg, and was lying on the ground, helpless.

She was playing dead, wasn't she? Those damn Jaffa were kicking her in the side, but he was powerless to stop them while he fought his own battle.

"Fall back!" He had cried.

Daniel had run back to the DHD and begun dialing.

"O'Neill, you go! I will get Major Carter!"

Jack shook his head. His bum knee hurt so badly, and his shoulder was throbbing with the pain caused by his own staff weapon injury, but he was not going to leave her behind.

"O'Neill, you are injured! I will get Major Carter!"

Teal'c reached Carter before he did, anyway, and Jack laid down cover fire. Then, they went through the Gate, desperate for the safety it provided.

Once through, they had been rushed to the infirmary, separated, and treated.

Now, Jack sat at Sam's side, hoping she would wake up.

"Colonel?"

Jack turned to find General Hammond standing in the entrance.

"Oh, hello General."

"Colonel, somebody has to call Pete Shanahan."

Jack cringed. "Give me his number," he responded, dutifully.

"The only phone number we have listed for him is Sam's phone."

Jack nodded, wearily. "I'll go and call him in a few minutes."

The General stayed there. "Son, it wasn't your fault. None of us knew that the goa'uld were waiting for you."

Jack continued staring at the unconscious Samantha.

"Son, if I'd know, I wouldn't have authorized that mission."

Jack nodded. "I know. But all she wanted to do was mess with her gizmos and gadgets and figure out the mysteries of the universe. That's all she's ever wanted to do. So, why her?"

Why not me? He added in his mind.

He got up and went to one of the telephones. He dialed Sam's phone number, but there was no answer. Suddenly, the answering machine picked up. "Hi! You've reached Sam and Pete. Leave a message!"

He stood there for a moment, a lump forming in his throat. He might never hear that voice again.

"Pete, this is Colonel Jack O'Neill of the United States Air Force." He said, after gaining his composure once again. "Sam's been injured, and I wanted to let you know. Give us a call at the base, and we'll fill you in on her condition. Pete, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry."

He hung up the phone. So, they're living together now, he thought. Well, he had lost his chance, and he wasn't going to ruin Sam's happiness if she ever did wake up.

Those thoughts only added to the weight of his previous depression.

* * *

_Read and review. There you have it, the formula for a writer's inflated ego!_


	9. A Moment of Truth

_A few weeks later . . ._

* * *

Sam was just now being allowed back to Gate Travel. Her leg and a couple of broken ribs had healed nicely, but Daniel was just a little too curious about her relationship with Pete.

"Jack called him six weeks ago, and still none of us have heard from the guy! I mean, what kind of guy doesn't authorize his military girlfriend to write down his cell phone number as an emergency contact?"

Uh, the non-existent guy, she thought.

"Look, Daniel, I appreciate how much thought you've put into this, but the truth is, I just didn't want Pete to worry. I want him to go and be a good cop without worrying about me."

"That still doesn't explain why he hasn't come to see you while you were in the infirmary."

"Daniel, when I was sent home, I talked to him. Trust me, everything's fine."

She pushed past him into her lab where she continued working on upgrading the sensory functions of the UAV for SG-1's next mission.

But now, she was suited up in the embarkation room, waiting for the orders to move out.

"It's nice to have you back, Carter."

She smiled at Jack. "Thank you, Sir."

Why had he been so distant since her injury? Was it because he blamed himself still? He couldn't have done anything to help her!

"Sir, are you all right?"

Jack turned. "Yeah. Why?"

She shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. "You just don't seem like . . . yourself . . . that's all."

"Carter, I'm fine!" Jack snapped.

"All right! Sorry I asked."

He sighed. "Carter, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

He looked back at the Stargate. "How's Pete?"

Sam was hurt by his reference to Pete. It seemed so easy for him to let "Pete" win.

"Oh, he's fine."

"So, you're living with Pete?"

She practically choked. "What do you mean?"

"SG-1, you have a go!"

As they walked up the ramp, he turned to her. "Carter, I called your place to tell him about your injury. I noticed the message on the answering machine that said it was Sam and Pete's place."

Daniel and Teal'c walked through the gate quickly, unsure of whether they wanted to stick around for this or not.

She laughed. "Pete's moving to California in a couple of months. He's already left his apartment, and he needed a place to stay."

"Are you going with him?"

She shrugged as she prepared to go through the Gate. "I think we'll try the long-distance relationship for a while."

Try the non-existent relationship! She snapped to herself. Why couldn't Jack see through her transparent lie? Or could he?

"Sir, I just wanted to say . . ."

He walked through the Stargate just then.

"Pete doesn't exist." She whispered to herself.

* * *

_Sorry it's been so long since I posted last. It took me a while to really get a good chapter idea. I also didn't really want to have to deal with the idea that maybe Sam was 'living with Pete,' but in the end, I think it turned out all right._

_Just remember, PETE'S NOT REAL! Sam sort of made him up to make Jack jealous. (Refer back to Chapter 1- Samantha- if you don't remember.)_

_Now, don't forget to review. It really makes my day when I hear from you guys, and I don't get half-enough reviews!_ ;)


	10. Daniel's Plot

_Sorry it's been so long since I last updated! I've been thinking about how to continue all of my stories at the same time...It's getting harder and harder. I welcome any comments and suggestions (PG rating) you might have...They help my creative juices flow, and I just might use them...Even if I don't, I still appreciate them._

* * *

"Jack, what do you think of Pete?" Daniel asked.

"Nothing. Why?" Jack asked as he tightened his grip on his P-90.

"I believe O'Neill does not think favorably of Major Carter's suitor." Teal'c replied.

"Yeah, well neither do I." Daniel answered.

"And your suggestion, Danny boy?"

"I don't know…We could go …"

Just then, Sam walked through the Gate.

"Well, let's go," Jack said, pointing to a direction in the woods.

They walked a few miles to the ruins that Daniel and Sam had wanted to look at. "T, go with Carter, I'll go with Danny." Jack instructed.

Teal'c nodded, and followed Sam into what seemed to be the Scientific Lab area. When they had gone, Daniel turned to Jack. "So, you want to know what my idea was."

It was a statement, not a question, and it was one that Jack didn't respond to.

"I think you, Teal'c and I should go and… rough him up a bit. You know, cast a shadow. I mean, this guy was one of Mark's friends, so he won't do it, and Jacob is…well, Jacob can't go and cast a shadow right now."

Jack turned to Daniel, angrily. "Don't you think Sam can handle herself! Man, I thought you were smarter than that!"

Daniel studied Jack. "You love her, don't you."

Another statement. Jack again refused to respond.

"Jack, do you really think she's happy?"

Jack took a deep breath. "I thought you wanted to read this stuff. Well, unless you want me to go right back, you need to start reading!"

Daniel opened his notebook and began copying the characters down. "I think she's in love with you too."

"Daniel…" Jack growled, threateningly.

"Don't you want to at least make sure that she's happy?"

"Dammit, Daniel, of course I want her to be happy! Don't you realize that's why I haven't done anything? She loves her job, and I know that. Unfortunately, that means that we can't be together."

"I'm sure there are ways around that," Daniel said, studying the characters he had written down. "I think it's a cross between Arabic and Aramaic Hebrew."

He began studying while Jack shook his head. "Well, even if there were, she's with Pete. They are happy, and I'm not going to go and ruin it by being selfish."

"When should I schedule our trip to California?" Daniel asked, simply.

"The next time we have down time."

"All right, tomorrow, it is."

* * *

All right, now, what am I going to ask you? The person who can answer this gets a gold star...Figuratively, obviously.


	11. California

_Albi and Terrorizerandzooky, you win cookies! (Okay, just kidding…no cookies…but you get the idea!)_

_I wrote this while watching Hamlet with Kenneth Branaugh; I blame Shakespeare and Branaugh for the dramatic angst of this chapter._

_I made up the bar, so get over it...

* * *

_

The rental car stopped in front of the beige house at five o'clock Pacific Standard Timein suburb LA. Jack, Daniel and Teal'c looked toward the door. Jack's nerves were on edge. He couldn't believe he had let Daniel talk him into this.

"So, Danny boy, we're going to do what, exactly?" He asked, impatiently.

"Uh, I don't know…I thought that was your job." The linguist replied.

"Did not one of you have a plan?" Teal'c asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It was Daniel's idea!" Jack said, adjusting his sunglasses.

"And you're the military mastermind." Daniel protested.

"Perhaps we should simply approach him and demand an explanation for his absence during Major Carter's recovery." Teal'c offered.

Daniel and Jack looked at Teal'c and then at each other. "Sounds good to me." Jack said.

Daniel nodded. "Me too."

They got out of the car and headed toward the house. Daniel rang the doorbell and a blond woman in her late 30s came to the door.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Hi," Daniel began, trying not to look absolutely shocked by her appearance at the door. "Sorry, we must have the wrong house. We were looking for Pete Shanahan. Does he live near here?"

The woman smiled. "Uh, yeah. He lives right here, but you just missed him. He went to work about ten minutes ago. But I'm his wife, can I help you?"

Jack stared at her, rage beginning to overcome him. However, he managed to keep his emotions in check. "No. Listen, we were just here to say hi after the last convention we saw him at. We had some business in the area and wanted to say hi. Thanks! Bye!"

He turned and left before anyone else realized what had happened.

Daniel looked awkwardly at Mrs. Shanahan. "Uh, just tell him that Jack, Daniel and Murray stopped by to say hi."

Daniel and Teal'c reached the car, and Daniel was about to cut into Jack for his abrupt manner, but unfortunately he was on the phone.

"Yes, Officer. That's Jack O'Neill with two l's. Tell Detective Shanahan to meet me at McGuinty's at 5:30 pm. I have a tip for his latest case. I'll be sitting in the corner booth by myself with a scotch in front of me."

He hung up the phone.

"Jack, are you okay?" Daniel asked.

"That bastard is going to pay!" Jack said, gritting his teeth.

"Jack, calm down! You're being irrational." Daniel said, worried about this meeting with Shanahan.

"Irrational! Daniel, he's treating her like a common whore!"

"Jack, I'm angry about this too, but it's not for us to decide. We're going to have to tell Sam when we get back, and then let her deal with it."

"No, Daniel. You wanted us to come and cast a shadow. Well, I'm going to go and cast a shadow. He's not going to mess with Sam anymore."

"Jack, let's just handle this like responsible adults…"

"He's not acting like a responsible adult, so why should I?" Jack said, getting into the car and slamming the door.

Daniel and Teal'c looked at their watches as they entered the four-door car. This was not going to be pretty…especially when Sam found out about it.

* * *

_So, what do you think? Just push the button and let me know..._


	12. Pete

_Enjoy the next chapter. Once I got started on the last chapter, I couldn't stop. The next one is coming within a few hours.For those of you who didn't want Sam to get that embarrassed, I want you to realize that it's gotta be a little angsty because I try to write fairly realistically...Keep the death threats to a minimum, please._

* * *

Jack sat in the booth, holding the scotch. The thoughts that were racing through his head were confusing. Surely Sam wouldn't knowingly get involved with a married man...would she?

He shook his head. He couldn't think about this. He'd worry about it later.

There was a man in khakis and a read button-down shirt approaching the corner booth where Jack sat.

"Mr. O'Neill?" The man asked.

"Yes?" He asked, hooding his eyes.

"You had some information for me?"

"Sit down and have a drink." Jack said, surprisingly calm. He knew those acting classes he had taken with Sara would pay-off.

"I'd rather not."

Jack shrugged. "Whatever."

"Mr. O'Neill, I'm afraid I don't have much time." The detective said, still standing.

"I know about Samantha Carter." He said.

Pete's face contorted in confusion. "What?"

"That's right, Mr. Shanahan, I know about your affair with Samantha Carter." Jack said.

Pete's eyes widened. "I haven't seen Sam since she left for the Gulf."

"You liar!" Jack said, rising.

"I swear!" Pete said, taking a step away from the angry Colonel.

"Bastard! Stay away from Samantha Carter!" Jack yelled as he slugged Pete.

* * *

_Hope you like the way I portrayed Jack's "knight in shining armour" complex...Review!_


	13. The Cat's Out Of the Bag

_All right, here's part three of the chapters that I've writing lately. I hope you enjoy..._

_Thanks to Vid Z. for part of the last line rewrite…

* * *

_

Two days later, Sam was in the lab, working on her latest naquadria experiment.

"Hey, Sam."

She looked over her shoulder and found Daniel walking into the lab. She smiled. "Hi, Daniel. How was Minnesota?"

Daniel's face held a guilty look. "Uh, Sam, we...well, we, uh, didn't...exactly...go to...Minnesota."

She chuckled. "I didn't think so. You and Teal'c were a little too excited for a trip to Jack's cabin. So, team/male-bonding thing did you guys do?"

Daniel picked up some of the crystals that were lying on the table and started fiddling around with them. "We, uh, went to California."

She nodded, barely hearing him.

"And Jack was arrested for assaulting a police officer."

She stopped, shocked by what he'd said. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, we bailed him out, but we have some bad news for you." He said, avoiding eye contact with her.

She placed her tools down. "What?"

"The officer that Jack hit was Pete Shanahan."

She was too stunned to respond for a few moments. "What were you doing in California?" She whispered, hoping that she didn't know the answer.

"Uh, we were going to cast a shadow..."

She reached over and grabbed the crystals in anger and embarrassment. "How dare you!" She hissed.

Daniel looked at her, his pain for her imminent hurt shining in his eyes. "Sam, he's married."

"I know he's married, Daniel. I'm not stupid!" She spat back.

Suddenly, Sam realized with horror what she had just implied...

"Daniel, I just..."

Daniel shook his head and walked toward the door. He stopped, then turned. "Well, obviously you had me fooled…I thought you were better than that, Sam."

* * *

_It'll get worse before it gets better, but it will get better! Just stick with me. I'm not trying to bash Carter...I love her just as much as the next person, but I want to see a little more human approach to her character. She's always either too good, too perfect, or too unavailable for whatever is happening. Here, she's just like a whole lot of women...clueless about how to get a guy...not that Jack's helping her or anything..._

_KEEP READING AND REVIEWING!_


	14. The General's Advice

_I'm so sorry for it being so long since I posted…I kind of got into a rut, and didn't realize that I hadn't posted as much as I'd written…Enjoy!

* * *

_

Sam walked slowly to Jack's office, dreading the encounter. She knocked on the door. There was no answer.

"Colonel O'Neill, it's me: Carter! Open up!"

Again there was no answer. "Jack, it's me…Sam!"

General Hammond walked by. "Major Carter, Colonel O'Neill is not here today. He informed me that he would return when SG-1 is back on active duty in a week."

She just stood there, stunned.

"Sam, I'm going to speak frankly…" The General began after studying her for a few seconds.

"Yes, sir?" She replied.

"Jack loves you."

She didn't reply.

"He wouldn't have done that for anybody except you."

Again she was quiet.

"Don't keep up this charade!" Hammond ordered.

Her blood froze; how could General Hammond know? Had he spoken to Mark?

"What charade?" She asked, timidly.

"Sam, the whole base knows you're in love with Jack…well, everyone except Jack. And we also know Jack loves you…well, everyone except you."

She was shocked, but also relieved. He didn't know about Pete…or the lack thereof.

"Sam, how am I supposed to tell the President of the United States who, at my request, suspended all fraternization regulations for the SGC, particularly SG-1, that two of my most brilliant officers are so blind to something so obvious?"

George placed a hand on Sam's shoulder. "Sam, this is the last thing I'm going to say: Jack is a man of action. He may not say that he loves you…but his actions scream it."

She nodded meekly. "Thanks, General."


	15. Confrontation

Sam spent the next week, trying to continue working on her experiments, but her thoughts kept returning to General Hammond's comments. She had lost count of the numbers of times she had picked up the phone, about to call Jack to see how he was doing, but hung up the phone before she finished dialing his number.

At the end of the leave drew closer, she found her heart beat faster in anticipation. She was sleeping less and less while being more and more preoccupied. Then, the fateful day arrived. Sam was on her thousandth cup of coffee, and as she stared at the reactor, she was unable to even process what it was.

"Carter…"

She spilled her coffee all over the reactor as she jumped at the sound of Jack's voice.

"Yes sir?" She asked, standing rigidly upright.

Jack chuckled despite his fairly solemn demeanor. "Careful, Carter…you're going to ruin your doohickey."

She groaned and rubbed her fingers in a circular motion on her temples. "This is not happening." She muttered under her breath.

"Yeah, it is, Carter."

She turned to him and saluted. "Welcome back, sir."

He clasped his hands behind his back. "I don't know if Daniel told you…"

She nodded. "He did."

"Sam," He began, taking a deep breath. "You deserve someone who isn't using you…"

She sat down, faintly. "Jack…"

"I've been gathering up the courage to say this for a week, Carter…" Jack said, his voice rising.

She sat still, silenced by Jack's slight rebuke.

"Sam, General Hammond has been on my back for years about the fact that he's gotten the regulations suspended for the SGC, and yet hasn't had the satisfaction of seeing…well, anyway, what I really wanted to know is whether or not you'd come to dinner with me tonight."

Sam blinked. "Huh?"

Jack took another deep breath. "Do you want to go to dinner with me tonight?"

"Jack…I have to tell you…"

He reached in his pocket. "Oh, and I forgot…"

He produced the jewelry box that contained the locket he had bough for her birthday, but hadn't yet given to her. She gasped, and he quickly continued. "I really did get you a birthday present…I just didn't know how to give it to you."

She opened the velvet box and found the locket. Then, she turned it over to find the inscription. "To the best and brightest…" There was also a tiny star underneath the inscription and she began to cry. She looked at him, and then returned her gaze to the locket and caressed the top. Then, wordlessly, she placed the locket back and returned it to him.

"What? Don't you like it?" Jack asked, confused.

"I…love…it, Jack, but I can't take it until I tell you what I need to." He looked at her, seemingly aging ten years in the space that it took her to continue. "Jack, I haven't dated anyone seriously since the second Abydos mission."

He blinked. "You mean you and Pete…"

"Haven't seen each other since I left for the Gulf." She finished.

"So, he was telling the truth?" Jack asked, still disbelieving.

She nodded, ashamed.

"Wow…I am such an idiot!"

"Jack, I'm…it's just that…I'm sorry." She finished, lamely.

"Sorry? Sorry doesn't cut it, sweetie." Jack said, turning around so that he wasn't facing her anymore.

"I know…"

"You know?" He yelled. "Sam, where were you when I was sitting in jail overnight for assaulting a frickin' police officer?"

She winced.

"For that matter, why did you do it? Was it just too much fun to watch me suffer?"

She looked up, a sense of deep anger stirring in her bosom. "How dare you suggest that I would enjoy watching you suffer…I would never want to see you hurt."

"Yeah, well you and Pete has certainly made me hurt, Carter!"

She stood. "I had to know…"

"Know what, Carter? Was this just another experiment? See how far the charade can go? Dammit, Sam…in the closet, I was going to…" He stopped and caught his breath from his raving.

"What were you going to do?" She asked. "Kiss me? Make love to me? All of those things I've wanted but could never have?"

"Stop messing with my head, Sam!"

Sam now had tears of embarrassment and anger running down her cheeks. "Well, if you must know," she spat. "I did it because I needed to know if you loved me."

"What!" He shouted. "Apparently, you were the only one on the base who didn't know."

"Likewise! I wouldn't be surprised if everyone else on the base knew that my relationship with Pete was non-e…"

"Daniel and Teal'c were just as ignorant as I was." Jack sneered.

"Then maybe you're all just…"

She was so frustrated that she couldn't find an adequate adjective for the men.

"Well, I don't need to take this anymore…Major!" He yelled, turning on his heel and leaving her lab, slamming the door behind him. For once in his life, he actually left her behind.


	16. Resignation

Sam walked into the Gate room the next day, all suited up and ready for SG-1's mission to P5Q 503. This was going to be great after her confrontation with Jack the day before. Of course, her preliminary physical had been interesting. The nurses spoke in hushed tones…even Janet had a tiny glare in her eyes.

She took a deep breath. It would pass as soon as there was another bit of juicy gossip, right?

Not with the way Walter Harriman (the Chevron guy) kept staring at her.

"Major Carter, is not O'Neill to be here for this mission?"

She turned and saw Teal'c. "Uh, yeah, I think so. I'm sure he'll show up. You know how he is…"

"He's probably just running late." Daniel filled in, avoiding Sam.

"Do I have horns growing out the top of my head, Daniel?" She asked, irritated.

He looked at her. "No…just a little touchy, maybe."

She glared at him. "I'm the same person I've always been."

"Uh-huh…" He said, studying her somewhat condescendingly.

"Daniel, I wasn't really dating him…"

"SG-1, this mission has been reassigned. SG-4 will take it." General Hammond said as he walked into the Embarkation room.

"Sir, we're perfectly capable of handling this…"

"Yes, you are, Major. But Colonel O'Neill didn't show up for duty this morning, and I haven't been able to reach him at home. I thought you might want to spend your time trying to find him instead of going off-world."

Sam's jaw dropped, though her mouth remained closed. "There's been no word from Colonel O'Neill?"

She had hurt him so badly that he had…

She couldn't think about it. However, he had almost committed suicide after Charlie, and now…

"General Hammond?" Walter asked, approaching the small group.

"Yes, Sergeant?"

"There's a telephone call for you."

He nodded. "I'll just be a few moments. I'd appreciate it if you waited for me in the Briefing Room."

They silently followed him up the stairs into the Control room and then up into the Briefing room.

Daniel and Teal'c sat down, but Sam was so nervous and worried that she stood, staring at the Stargate. The Asgard must have needed him and beamed him up into their space. Or maybe the NID had kidnapped him because of that stupid Ancient gene. Or…

Her mind started swimming with possibilities. Jack had made a lot of people mad.

She nearly sobbed when she thought of the most vivid possibility in her mind. Maybe Kinsey had sent someone to kill him for what he had done to help General Hammond.

"Thank you for waiting. I have some good news, and I have some bad news." General Hammond said, coming out of his office.

Sam didn't respond; she just continued looking at the Stargate, one hand over her mouth in horror as the other arm was wrapped around her waist, propping her hand up.

"Major, would you please join us?"

She nodded. Almost instantly, she was able to regain her composure. At that time, she turned and walked over to the table.

"What's the good news, sir?"

"We found Colonel O'Neill. That was him on the telephone."

Sam was visibly relieved. "And the bad?" She whispered, realizing that it wasn't entirely out of possibility that Kinsey had taken him prisoner.

"He's resigning effective immediately."


	17. Turnabout's Fair Play

Sam walked into the locker room to get her jacket and a few other things before she headed home. She hated it when she was ordered home. She sat down on the bench in front of her locker. She bowed her head and started to cry. She felt like such an idiot!

She heard footsteps approaching and she quickly wiped her eyes and stood up. Daniel walked in. "Oh…sorry."

"Don't be…I was just leaving." She answered as she grabbed her jacket and her purse.

She started to leave, but Daniel grabbed her hand. "Daniel! Let go!"

"Sam. I'm sorry for the way I was acting. I should have…I should have listened to you."

She just glanced at him. "Daniel, it was my mistake that got us into this. I'll just have to find a way to deal with it."

"Sam, I think you should know that Jack's loved you for a LONG time. Almost as long as you've loved him."

"Right…" She said, trying once more to leave.

"He beat me up once you know. Over you." He said as she walked out. He had her attention and she turned back.

"What?" She asked, wondering just what Daniel could have done to make Jack that angry with him.

"When you both had the Virus of the Touched…he came in after…your little…"

"Encounter." She supplied.

"Yes. Anyway, he told me what happened, and I wanted to see if you were okay."

She was still oblivious. "Okay…"

"Well, he said that you weren't mine to care about…he called you 'Samantha,' actually, I think there's security camerafootage around here somewhere…Black Market-well, as close to a black market as the SGC has..." Daniel said, absently.

"That early on?"

"Same for you, wasn't it?"

She blushed. "Well, maybe…"

"You really hurt him." He finished.

"I know." She said, her head bowed low in humiliation.

"I've never seen him look so angry. I mean, he's got a level head in the field, but…he just lost it when he thought that you were being used."

Tears slid down her cheeks. "Thanks, Daniel. I know what you're trying to do, but…"

"Talk to him. Find him when he's more sober, and tell him that you made a mistake."

She smiled sadly. "I don't think it's going to be that easy."

"What do you mean?"

"Like you said…I hurt him really badly." She looked back at him. "Well, bye."

Before she left, she went back to her lab and typed a letter…her resignation. General Hammond found it on his desk the next morning when Samantha Carter, Ph.D. didn't show up for work.


	18. She's Gone

Daniel walked up to Jack's door and knocked. "I'm coming."

He opened the door. "Ah…Danny." He squinted at the light. "What's going on?"

"Sam just disappeared."

Jack closed his eyes. "And that would be my problem, why?"

"Because whatever conversation you two had made you both run away from your lives." Daniel accused.

"Daniel, I've got a hang-over…cut to the part where you tell me that I need to run after her and make a blundering idiot of myself again."

"That's not what she was going for."

"Great…"

"Jack, she was practically sick about what happened."

"Yeah, well…so am I." He started to close the door, but Daniel stopped him. "Jack, if you don't go after her now, we'll lose the best scientist that has ever walked through the Stargate."

Jack didn't even look at the archaeologist.

"And you'll miss the only chance you have at finding happiness again."

"Daniel, you may leave." Jack said, fighting an urge to injure him.

"I brought Teal'c for security."

"I don't care if you bring Ba'al. I'm not going to be responsible for whatever I do to you if you don't leave!"

"Jack, we have no idea where she is! She could be in danger! And I'm not kidding! General Hammond just got a call from Agent Barrett. The NID is looking for her. And chances are, they're going to find her."

Jack took a deep breath. "She's a big girl. I think she can take care of herself."

Then, he slammed the door in Daniel's face.


	19. Kidnapped

The rope binding her hands and feet cut into her flesh everytime she squirmed. She tried to meditate the way Teal'c had shown her, but her mind was too cloudy to do so. Only a few hours earlier, she had been drinking to forget the wretchedness of her relationships. She still couldn't believe that she had been so blind as to think that lying to Jack would fix all their problems. Now, her life was in danger, and she realized that she had just severed ties with everyone who could have helped her to escape.

The tie that her captors had gagged her with was musty and had made her mouth even drier than it had been previously. She hated being captured.

She had arrived home after submitting her resignation and immediately reached for a beer. After two or three of the alcoholic beverages, she could feel herself relaxing. But instead of blocking thoughts of Jack out of her mind, the alcohol became conducive to them. His deep brown eyes, his unruly graying brown hair, his smile that made her weak at the knees…

Just then, she had been zatted. She had awoken in a van- similar to the one that had taken her to the hospital where she had been held captive by Adrian Conrad.

Damn! She hated getting kidnapped!

As far as she could tell, she was being taken to a secret NID testing location. She couldn't let that happen, and she was probably on her own.

She gritted her teeth and tried once more to get out of the cords that bound her. Unfortunately, she continued to fail, unable to free herself.

The van came to a stop and her captors turned around. She was zatted again and the blackness of unconsciousness engulfed her. _If anybody can hear me_, she tried emitting, _find me!_

A thousand miles away, Jack O'Neill awoke, sweating. He still loved her, and she needed him. So despite his broken heart, he set out to find the woman that he had come to love and depend on.


	20. Temporary Return of Jack O'Neill

Daniel Jackson walked into the briefing room where Janet Fraiser, General Hammond and Teal'c sat. "Well, Jack's out."

"What?" Janet asked.

"I know…I guess they hurt each other really bad."

"Dr. Jackson, I need time to assign replacements for your team. Until then, I want you and Teal'c to work with Agent Barrett to find Dr. Carter. That's not an order."

Daniel nodded. "I understand."

"Sir," Janet interrupted. "I need to go with them. When they find her, she may need medical attention."

The General mulled the thought over. As he did so, a man walked into the briefing room. "She's right, General. We're gonna need ol' Doc Fraiser."

They all looked over to him. "Jack?" Daniel asked.

"The one and only." He said, dressed in jeans, a white t-shirt and a black leather jacket.

"I thought you said he wasn't interested." Janet said.

"Yeah, well…I looked at the pros and cons. And there just weren't any pros to having Carter experimented on by NID scientists."

"Good to have you back, Colonel." Hammond said.

"Hey, it's just 'til we find Carter, then...I'm back to Minnesota."

"Understood."

Hammond turned to them all. "Keep in touch. I'll keep an ear to the ground from here, and I'll let you know if I find anything."

"Likewise, General." Jack responded.

Then, the General retreated to his office. Jack turned to the other occupants of the room. "Well, let's get started. We don't want to waste any time."

"What changed your mind, Jack?" Daniel asked.

"No matter how I feel about anyone, I have the decency to realize that no one has a built-in clause to experiment on anybody. And...I've dealt with rogue NID more often than any of you. So...you need me."

"That's true, but Barrett could help us out just as well as you could." Daniel pointed out.

"I do not believe that O'Neill wishes to reveal his true purpose for assisting in the rescue of Major Carter." Teal'c supplied.

"Thanks, T."

"I did not say that I agreed with your reasoning, O'Neill. I simply stated that you are uncomfortable with this interrogation."

"Well, thanks anyway, T." Jack said after a moment of careful consideration of his friend's message. "Let's go. We have a meeting with Agent Barrett at 1330 hours. Better not be late."


	21. Waking Up in the Infirmary

She was lying, strapped to a bed. It was all too familiar. It was exactly like the time that Adrian Conrad had kidnapped her and tried to run experiments on her. She wasn't sure which time was worse, however.

A man with floppy brown hair and glasses walked into the room. She would have sworn that it was Daniel.

"Sam," he began, his hands in his pockets. He looked at her with a very serious and concerned look.

She refused to answer. It was a trick. They were trying to lull her into a sense of security. It was probably those damn mimic devices.

"Aw, come on, Sam. It's for your own good. You tried to attack the SGC." He whined.

She raised her eyebrows. If this guy was going to try to be Daniel Jackson, he should have observed him more closely. Besides, he obviously didn't know anything about her. She would never have attacked the SGC.

"You've been having paranoid delusions. Janet wants to make sure you don't hurt yourself or anyone else."

She looked around. Whoever had kidnapped her had certainly studied the base isolation chambers. She would have believed that she was there. In fact, there stood Janet Fraiser and General Hammond in the observation room.

"Why are you talking to me? Why isn't General Hammond or Janet?"

"Well, frankly, because they're afraid of you. You almost killed Jack."

She took a deep breath, pain rushing over her. Damn it! She knew this wasn't real. It was all just an attempt to get her to trust them- whoever they were. Janet and the General wouldn't be afraid of her, no matter what she had done.

Still, she could gather more intelligence on them if she played along. One of her least used talents was the ability to cry on demand; it was time to dust off that old talent. Hopefully, she would believe her act.

"God, I can't remember what I did. Is he okay?" She asked as tears slipped down her cheeks.

She knew that she would have to stay in character, but…then again, she had been accused of paranoid delusions. Those tended to mess with your head.

"He's fine." Janet said over the intercom. "Some internal injuries, and a lot of emotional stress. We had to sedate you so that we could even get you in here. We're just glad to see that you're doing better."

"Daniel, what happened? The last thing I remember is getting to the base after our last mission."

"We're still running some tests. We don't know what happened."

Suddenly, a nurse appeared out of nowhere, two syringes in her hand.

"We need to take a blood sample and compare it to the last blood work that we have on file. Hopefully that will give us a head start. But, are you experiencing any pain?"

As she thought about it, she was indeed experiencing pain. It was as if someone had begun pounding her skull with a heavy hammer.

"Headache, nausea, dizziness?"

Each symptom flooded over her. "Yes."

"We have a sedative prepared for you. It seems like some alien drug has induced your behavior. Is there something that you ate or drank that none of the other members of your team did?"

She shook her head, but it made the room spin faster. "I can't remember my last mission."

"That's understandable." General Hammond stated. "Get some rest, Major. We'll find out what happened to you."

She managed a weak smile. "Thank you, General."

Then, she felt a prick in her arm where the nurse injected something into her bloodstream. She hoped it really was just a sedative.


	22. Finding Carter

Jack walked down the sidewalk in the park, his wire picking up everything that was and would be said. A man sat on a bench nearby, a newspaper covering his face, and Jack sat next to him.

"Mind checking the weather for me?" he asked, looking at a couple of kids playing ball.

"Sorry, this is a paper my sister sent me from Phoenix."

"Arizona?"

"Yep."

'Well, I heard lately that you could fry an egg on the sidewalk out there."

"Yeah, well apparently it's hot enough that more than one person has gotten his goose cooked from the heat alone."

"Huh…must be a scorcher."

"The critters are crawling everywhere because of the heat. In fact, my sister was stung by a scorpion a couple of years ago. Doctors say she should have died. They keep running test, but…nothing so far."

"Routine blood work or are they working with chemicals?"

"As far as I know, it's routine blood work, but…they could be working with some medications."

"Any side effects? I mean, I've heard horror stories about hallucinations caused by experimental drugs."

"Well, she didn't mention any when I spoke with her, but that doesn't mean that there aren't any."

Jack stood, checking his sunglasses against the sun. "Well, thanks for the chat, but…I gotta go back to work. Tell your sister that I hope those doctors either find what they're looking for soon or give up."

"Thanks. I'm sure she'd be glad to hear that she's got a supporter." Suddenly, Barrett stood and faced him. "Aren't you retired?"

"Yeah, but…I'm freelancing."

"Well, be careful. I've heard that freelancing is murder in some circles."

--

Jack walked up to the surveillance van and got in. "Code?" Daniel asked.

"Daniel, the NID agents I know thrive on all of that cloak-and-dagger melodrama." Jack said, sitting down. Teal'c had already situated himself in the driver's seat. "Hey, T, head back to the Mountain, if you please. I'll get Hammond on the phone and we'll go from there."

Teal'c nodded and Jack saw it in the rear view mirror. He grabbed the phone and dialed the familiar number to General Hammond's red phone.

"Hammond."

"General, we've located Carter. She's in Phoenix."

"Her condition?"

"Apparently, she's being experimented on by some rogue scientists. And it all has to do with Jolinar."

"Guard?"

"Yes, and a pretty heavy one at that. Could be casualties on either side, but Barrett seemed to think Carter was in big trouble."

"How big?"

"Apparently the scientists aren't afraid of taking drastic measures."

"Like Adrian Conrad?"

"Apparently worse. Conrad's people were going to kill Carter in a manner that was as humane as possible…"

Both men scoffed at the idea. "But these scientists are possibly giving her some chemicals and seeing how it reacts with the naquadah already in her blood. Sir, they're torturing her. And not because she's withholding information from them, but because she was chosen to be the host of a Tok'ra symbiote."

"Colonel, you have to get her out of there. Drastic measures or not, she's a valuable member of Stargate personnel, and I want her back. Understood?"

"Understood."

"Jack, nobody should have to go through…"

"I know, sir."

There was a pause as the General chewed on the intel for a moment. "Phoenix is a big place."

"Barrett slipped the number to one of his NID contacts into my jacket pocket."

"Well, bring Major Carter home. I expect to find all four members of SG-1 reporting for debrief at the end of the week."

"Yes, sir."

"Hammond out."

"Teal'c, change of plans…we're going to Phoenix."


	23. Torture

_Italics are for Sam's thoughts._ Regular are the hallucinations that she's having.

* * *

Nightmarish images swarmed around her in a haze: the first time she had killed someone, the photos of her mother's car accident, the faces of the Kull warriors, and a thousand other horrific things that she had been forced to deal with through the years. But in spite of it all, his face was more pronounced than the other horrors. He was looking at her with a look that she couldn't quite describe. It was as though the looks that he gave to the likes of Kinsey and Maybourne were coupled with the look that he had given her when he walked out of her lab after her confession.

"Sir." She greeted, warily.

"Carter." He said, his expression vague.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. She hadn't expected him to show up during her torture.

"What any normal person would be doing here."

"You're here to comfort me?" She asked, surprised. She decided that she shouldn't have been, since he was always there for his team.

_His team. What team? I have done what no Goa'uld, system lord or even death could do…I split up SG-1._

But there was something about the look in his eye that made her uncomfortable. It wasn't the look that she would expect from someone comforting her, it was the look that she had come to expect on the faces of system lords when SG-1 was captured.

"Keep ya company, keep ya on your toes…yadda, yadda, yadda…"

She sank to the ground, though there really wasn't a ground to sink to. It was as if she was in a hell with swirling waters of darkness, each pool filled with another image taken from the closely guarded depths of her mind. "Sir, they're running tests on me."

"Yeah. They are."

"That doesn't bother you?" She asked, sincerely.

"Well, Carter, I mean, don't get me wrong…I'm not sure anybody deserves this kind of treatment, but…it will help a lot of people."

"Sir?"

"I mean, Jolinar died to save you, and consequently has saved you from other things…I mean, why wouldn't you want to find a way to give what the Tok'ra offered both you and your dad to other people. Carter, we're talking about a miracle drug here."

"And we're talking about my life. Did I hurt you so badly that you want to see me die?"

"Carter…" He said, walking toward her. "You didn't hurt me…this was part of the plan all along."

"I don't understand."

"Oh come on, Carter, you've seen me in action. You know what I'm capable of. I was black ops for most of my career. You honestly want me to believe that you didn't know that I could be capable of being a double agent?"

"Why?"

"Because it was lucrative."

"But…you took the first Stargate mission because you were suicidal. Your son had just died."

"Yes." He said, carefully. "But nothing that Daniel said changed my mind. I realized that it was going to become a controversial issue, and I wanted to get in on the ground work. Working with the NID was better for me financially. They were willing to wait for me to get intel."

"But…Makepeace, and you…you…"

"I led the Asgard, Tollan, and SGC to the NID, right? Yeah, well…Makepeace was a good cover, but…not quite good enough. After all, Makepeace really only had access to a handful of mission files that weren't his own. I, on the other hand, had access to everything that wasn't in the medical archives. And half of the interesting medical things happened to SG-1. Why do you think I sat there, waiting for all of you when you were recovering? Did you really think it was because I CARED?"

She shrank back. "You're not Jack O'Neill."

"And you know who Jack O'Neill is?"

She started to get somewhat defiant. "Yes. As a matter of fact I do."

"As well as he knew you?" He spat back, laying the trump card on the table.

"I never meant to hurt you." She whispered, retreating back into her mind. "You're the last person I would want to hurt."

He grabbed her wrist and she was pulled from her safe place back into the battle ground. "Keep telling yourself that." He whispered, pulling her close as he rocked her back and forth wildly. "Because this is going to be worse than Netu."

A sharp pain in her side, like a goa'uld pain stick caught her by surprise. She screamed and when she was finished screaming, she inhaled something that smelled like burning flesh. Her head started spinning with dizziness and her stomach started turning with nausea. The pain didn't end, however, like a normal pain stick. It continued, and managed to intensify. "STOP IT JACK!" She yelled through her tears. "PLEASE! JACK!"

He watched, a cold look of pleasure in his eye. It was the last thing she remembered before she blacked out.


	24. Captured Rescuer

The deserted-looking warehouse looked cliché to say the least. Jack, Daniel and Teal'c knelt under cover of a recycle yard to the side of the warehouse. There was a fourth member of the expedition, a Special Agent Cindy Manning. Almost instantly, Jack code-named her Butch Cassidy.

It made a twisted sort of sense to everybody. After all, he was referencing the brains behind the illegal operations, and she had certainly been that.

She pointed to some guards. "It looks fairly vacant on the outside, but it's swarming on the inside. You have to take out everyone out here at relatively the same time or you will never get passed the front door."

She pointed to the side of the building. "There are typically three guards to each side. You're each going to have to take four men down, how you do that is up to you."

Jack nodded. "We'll be able to handle it."

"I have to go now. If I don't, it could blow my cover for the rest of the operation."

"Thanks." Daniel said, as she stood.

"Couldn't have been able to do it without you, Butch."

She looked long and hard at all three of them. "Look, I'm not going to pretend that I like military teams who think they're good enough to pull of covert operations, but…you guys must really care about her. Either that or you're so cocky you think you can take over the world." She waited for a response, but she didn't get one. "I guess what I'm trying to say is…good luck."

"We are in your debt."

"Consider it payback for saving the world." She said, before reaching for her gun and running, under cover, back to her vehicle.

"Okay…one of us is going to have to go in there and draw them all out." Jack said, turning back to the situation.

"What?" Daniel asked. "A decoy?"

"Daniel, we can take them, but not if we try it one at a time." He said, determinedly. "You guys stay here. I'm gonna go back to get the car and drive into the middle. I'll make some trouble, and then, you guys come and save my butt…"

Before they could protest, he was gone. "I hate it when he does that." Daniel whispered, watching his friend go off to what could be his death.

"As do I, Daniel Jackson."

A few minutes later, Jack pulled into the parking lot in the state car that they had gotten upon their arrival. Three of the guards walked over to him. Daniel and Teal'c didn't know what he was saying as he had taken off his wire, so they watched even more determinedly. Another two arrived, followed soon by another three. Before long, Jack was surrounded by guards.

"How many are there, Teal'c?"

"I am unable to count them." He said, squinting because of the light.

"So, do we go now, or do we not?"

"I believe impatience would be our undoing, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c said, convincing his friend to stay put, however reluctantly.

They stayed put for a few more moments until, to their horror, Jack was taken inside the compound. Daniel stood up ready for a fight when Teal'c placed one hand on his forearm. "O'Neill is providing us with the perfect opportunity to enter the compound undetected."

"And we're going to have to save them both."

"They will most likely be placed in the same portion of the building."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because when I was First Prime of Apophis, I would be asked to take a prisoner's loved one to them to be used against them in torture."

Daniel's eyes grew wide in horror. "We can't let that happen."

"Indeed."


	25. Confusion

They marched him through the corridors. It was as absent of decoration as Cheyenne Mountain, but somehow, it seemed gloomier and less homey. They reached what looked like the Isolation chambers that Dr. Frasier had placed the infected personnel during the Virus of the Touched. But when they opened the door, it looked like the cell that Daniel had been placed in when he went crazy that one time.

"Love the décor." He said, sarcastically as they shoved him inside. The door was closed and he sighed. He had kind of expected Teal'c and Daniel to show up and keep him from getting thrown into the joint, but he quickly understood that Teal'c was using the tactic to get inside the building by having all of the guards' attention placed on himself without risking that one of the guards would radio in and bring more troops outside.

"Why are you here, sir? I haven't done anything…" He heard a tiny voice whisper.

He turned to find Samantha Carter lying on the ground, her head propped up on the padded wall. He was stunned to realize that she was almost in the fetal position.

"Carter! It's me…" He said, hurrying over and kneeling down next to her.

Her eyes opened and suddenly, horror overcame her features. She instantly gathered the strength necessary to scurry away from him, tears streaming down her cheeks. She looked like an injured animal. "Please…don't come any closer."

"What?" He asked, taking a few slow and steady steps toward her. "Sam…I'm sorry, I was a jerk. I…I realized that…it doesn't matter now."

She curled up into a ball, gathering her knees to her chest. "Please." She whimpered.

"Carter, Daniel and Teal'c are coming to get us. They'll be here."

"Stop trying to confuse me!" She screamed. "I know you're not the real Jack O'Neill…he would NEVER do this to anyone!"

"Sam…" He said, kneeling down, just inches away from her knees. "It really is me."

He reached for her hand and she ripped it away from him. "Don't touch me." She growled.

"What have they done to you?" He asked, his heart breaking. Yes, she had hurt him, but nobody, NOBODY deserved to feel as though their closest friends were against them. And he had had more than enough experiences where he was made to doubt Sara's love for him, the close-knitted bond he had with his team…

He studied her appearance. She was wearing a pair of blue scrubs, and from the look of it, she had had many needles stuck into her, prodding her veins for the secrets of the Tok'ra healing abilities. Her hair was a matted mess, and her eyes looked bloodshot as if she had been experiencing some drug-induced hallucination.

He backed away and sat by the opposite wall. Well, obviously whatever hallucination he had become had not allowed for personal space. So, in order to get her to trust him, he was going to have to stay as far away as possible and say as little as possible.


	26. Trust

Teal'c and Daniel crept stealthily down the corridor, zats in hand. "Someone spent some time in Cheyenne Mountain…" Daniel observed.

"Indeed."

They continued to creep past guards before they saw 'Daniel Jackson' and 'General Hammond' talking. "It's perfect. I never dreamed it would work this perfectly."

"What happened?" 'Hammond' asked.

"She's afraid of him. Petrified. I mean, I should bring you the footage. He went to see if she was all right, and she wouldn't even let him near enough to breathe on her, let alone touch her. So, even if he is the MacGyver that everyone is making him out to be, she won't go with him."

"And if he manages to regain her trust? What then?"

"Sir, with all due respect, there is NO way for them to get out of the cell that they're in. I mean…it is completely sealed off. And there are guards around any corner. No, in her shape, they wouldn't even make it past the first group before she collapsed."

The real Daniel's fists clenched. So this was how they had tortured her. They had given her familiar atmosphere and faces, and turned it against her. Suddenly, he felt Teal'c's hand on his arm. "We must go." He whispered.

"We have to get whatever files they have on her. It'll help Janet figure out how they messed with her."

Teal'c nodded.

They hurried to a large room, looking much like the infirmary. There was an office where Janet's would have sat, and Daniel crept over. "I know what to look for. Let me try to get it."

Teal'c nodded. "I will stand guard."

"Good."

He stood and walked into the office. There was a moment of looking before he found what he was searching for…open on the desk. He reached for it.

"What are you doing?" The other Daniel asked, walking into the room.

"I'm…just…here to free Sam and Jack." He said as Teal'c came and clobbered the man. They dragged him over and left him under the desk. Daniel opened the buttons on his shirt and grabbed the mimic device. Sure enough the body morphed into one of the scientists that worked with the rogue faction of the NID.

"Teal'c. Tie him up, then get the van running. I'm going to get Sam and Jack." Daniel said, placing the device onto himself so as to look exactly like the impersonation the man now unconscious had done of him.

"What if you should need some assistance?"

"I won't."

"Are you entirely sure, Daniel Jackson?"

"No. But if they see you, we're dead." He admitted.

The Jaffa realized the advantage of the plan and bowed his head in submission.

He walked through the halls before 'Janet Fraiser' stopped him. "It's time to administer another drug to the patient. And this time, we'll also get to see its reaction on the Ancient gene. Apparently, Colonel O'Neill tried to save Major Carter."

"Excellent." Daniel said, trying to portray an evil smirk.

Three scientists crowded into the padded room: 'Daniel Jackson,' 'Janet Fraiser' and 'Paul Davis.'

Jack sat quietly in one corner, refusing to show the intruders anything except a stony face. Meanwhile, Sam cowered in fear in the other corner. She saw the syringes. "Please…" She begged. "Please…don't."

"Sam, it's just a sedative," Daniel said, trying to stay calm.

The door was now closed with only one guard outside. He knew that he and Jack could take the other two scientists, and with his zat, he could take the guard outside and probably a good number on their way back to meet Teal'c. But Sam was another story. He would normally have counted her as an benefit, but right now…she was a setback. However, either way, he had to get Jack's attention.

As one of the scientists bent to inject the contents of the syringe in Sam, Daniel knocked her over. She accidentally injected herself with the hallucinogen. When the other scientist turned to examine the damage, Daniel elbowed him in the face, and he fell onto Jack, dropping the syringe on the floor. Jack stood up. "Daniel?"

"Yes?"

"Is that really you?"

Daniel took off the mimic device for a moment. He morphed back into his original self. "Nice."

The guard looked in the tiny mirror as Daniel placed the mimic device back into its place. "HEY!" He said, as he opened the door.

Jack caught him by the arm and managed to knock him out. He threw the unconscious body over to where the other two lay.

"Sam. It's time to go." Daniel said.

Sam looked at him with bloodshot eyes. "No." She said, eyeing Jack to the corner.

He extended his hand. "Come on, Sam…I don't want to have to zat you and carry you back to the SGC."

"Daniel, they made it so that she doesn't trust us. She thinks this is all another form of torture. To be released into the hands of friends who will then destroy her."

"How could any human being do that to another?" Daniel asked.

"Daniel, it happens everyday. To the innocent and the guilty alike." Jack said, a tone of deep understanding covering everything that he said. "Sam…we need to go. We'd like you to come with us."

She whimpered. "I don't want to go."

Jack bent down next to her and she flinched. He touched her, softly, gently, and she looked over, trying to ascertain whether or not this was real. "You're free. You can choose to come with us or you can choose to leave yourself."

She looked at his hand, lying softly on her forearm. In her mind, she realized that there was no way she would be able to get out of the compound alive on her own. She was too weak.

"Okay." She said, allowing herself to talk away only one of her inhibitions. "But I get the zat."


	27. We Almost Lost Her

Jack looked around the corner and saw a few guards standing only a few feet away. "Daniel, did you bring a radio?"

"Yeah."

"Let me have it."

Daniel handed the small black device to his friend. "Teal'c, come in."

"O'Neill, it is good to hear your voice."

"Yours too, buddy, but…I need your help."

"How may I be of assistance?"

"Grab some of that C-4 that's in the truck. Then, plant some of it in a remote location, and blow it."

"Indeed."

"Thanks."

They huddled in the padded cell for the next three minutes while they waited for the explosion. Guards hurried past the cell, running for their lives. After they saw what seemed to be the end of the exodus, Jack helped Sam up. "Okay, now it's time to go."

They hurried in the opposite direction and ran.

"Hey, you! Stop!"

Jack and Daniel lunged at the two guards while Sam watched behind them for returning guards from the mass exodus. Two guards came at her, and she fired the zat, not worrying about the number of times she shot them. Each man went down, unaccustomed to the electrical charge issued by the weapon.

"Let's move, Carter!" Jack said, noticing that she was seizing up.

She nodded, taking a couple of deep breaths as she ran after them. Another group of guards came at them from the back, merely stepping over the bodies of their comrades. She pointed the zat at them, and pulled the trigger only to collapse alongside the fallen man.

"Jack!" Daniel cried, looking back at his fallen friend.

Jack lunged at the remaining guards, and threw a right hook that caught him in the nose, knocking the man out. Meanwhile, Daniel ran to Sam, checking her pulse. "Her pulse is weak and erratic."

"Then let's get her outta here!" Jack said as he threw the zat to him. "Take point. I'll get Carter!"

Daniel caught the zat, and began running forward. Jack laid the unconscious Carter across his shoulders and followed.

Janet Fraiser met them at the door, in full gear, while Teal'c stood watch. "How is she?"

"Not good…but this'll have to wait until we get into the van!" Jack yelled as a group of five guards approached. Janet reached for her semi-automatic and Teal'c and Daniel used their zats to provide the necessary cover for the rescue.

They reached the van, and Jack laid Sam on the floor. Janet jumped in immediately afterward as Teal'c and Daniel hopped into the front seats of the vehicle. All of the doors closed as Teal'c pulled out of the parking lot, the tires squealing in protest.

"Colonel, she's going into shock. Get me some blankets."

"Blankets?" He asked, surprised.

"Yes. They're in the back, by the door."

He found the wool blankets and handed them to the doctor. "Now, Colonel, I need you to sit by her feet, and place them on your legs. We need to keep them elevated. And Teal'c, we need to get her to the base ASAP."

"Understood, Dr. Fraiser."

"Daniel, call Hammond. Get him to have a chopper waiting for us at Luke Air Force Base!"

Suddenly, Sam gasped for air before her breathing stopped altogether. "Sir, I'm going to need your help. We have to start CPR."

"CPR?"

"Sir, she's stopped breathing!"

Jack flung her legs from off of his lap and moved over to where he knelt parallel to Dr. Fraiser. "Now what?"

The doctor had begun compressions. "Move her head so that it's at an upward angle. Place your thumb and forefinger over her nose, place her lips over hers and blow."

Jack hesitated for a moment.

"NOW!" The petite woman ordered.

He did so, and Janet monitored the situation carefully. "Now, again."

He blew again.

"Again."

He followed her instructions.

She felt for a pulse. It was weak, but it was there. "She's begun breathing on her own again, sir. Good work."

He just looked at the limp body of his second-in-command as he slowly returned to the position he'd originally been in. He placed her legs on his to elevate them. He'd almost lost her. Again.


	28. Near Death Experiences

Her mind was chaos. That was all that it was, and it managed to make her question her very identity. Images, thoughts, and words floated through her brain. They were all of the same man...a man she couldn't seem to identify, but she knew that she loved him, and that he had somehow hurt her.

_"What a relief! I have never been so happy to see you guys." She said, donning the strange clothing that her teammates were wearing._

_He smiled with amusement. "Oh, sure you have, remember that time on P3X-595, you drank that stuff that made you take off..."_

_She coughed. "We won't get into that now…"_

What she wouldn't give for that memory now!

_The man with the graying brown hair and the smile that made her weak at the knees interrupted the floppy-haired archaeologist. "All right, wait a minute, let me get something straight. Engaged?" He asked, motioning between himself and her._

_"It is theoretically possible." She said, heatedly._

_"It's against regulations." He retorted._

_"I'm talking physics, sir."_

Physics? Was she a scientist? Regulations? Was she a soldier?

Flashes of physical and emotional pain overwhelmed her as she watched him walk out of the room. _"Oh God, he's telling you the truth! Please, Jack!" He knocked more insistently on the door. "No, Jack, please! Don't leave me, please! Give me a chance! Don't leave me like this! Please!"_

--

"She's seizing!" Janet said, watching the unconscious Sam begin to convulse.

"Can you do something for her?" Jack asked, almost afraid of what her answer would be.

"We can sure as hell try." She said, before turning to the nurses. "I need ten CCs of Oxcarbazepine. STAT!"

--

"_Can you do something for her?"_ His voice echoed in the hollow walls of her mind, calling her back to this existence.

_"You working through the night again?" The good doctor said, handing her a cup of coffee._

_"Yeah, Lot of work to do...thank you."_

_She could feel a concerned eye studying her. "Look Sam, there's no doubt you are going to solve this, but you have to accept the fact it's going to take time."_

_"Yeah, well, if I think that way, it could take months."_

_"Daniel says the Tollan could have a ship in the vicinity of Edora some time early next year."_

_She was nearly crying, as she contemplated not seeing him for another six months or so. "He shouldn't have to wait that long." She said, forcing them down._

_"You miss him."_

_She considered denying it, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. "Yeah."_

_"Is this a problem?"_

_She quickly returned to soldier mode. "No, No...Of course not."_

Was what a problem? She asked herself. None of these snippets were telling her anything that she wanted to know. She was almost trapped in her own mind. And it was going to slowly make her crazy. She needed to feel his gaze on her. She needed to hear his voice. She needed him.

"_How'd Colonel O'Neill take it?" She asked, as she sat down on the bed, preparing to go to sleep._

"_He didn't." Daniel said, a weary and even sad look on his face._

"_What?"_

"_He's going to go through with the procedure." Janet explained, a soft look of pain on her features._

"_What? He can't!" She protested, standing up and almost ready to attack someone or something._

"_He's on his way down now." Daniel said, trying to stay strong._

"_Why is he doing this?"_

"_He said he'd rather take the risk instead of being put to sleep indefinitely."_

"_But Astor—" She began. Janet cut her off._

"_If it happens he thinks Anise can use what she would learn to save you."_

_Her eyes widened in horror as she saw Jack walk past, guarded by a number of SFs. She pushed past her friends only to get blockaded by the SFs guarding her own door._

"_Sam. . . ." Daniel pleaded._

"_Colonel!" She had to tell him. He had to know. He couldn't…_

_He gave her one look and that was all that it took. She knew that nothing could change his mind. She turned around to find her friends standing behind her, powerless to stop the inevitable. "You have to stop him!"_

"_It's his choice." Daniel reminded her. _

Her heart hurt from the emotion wrenched out of her. She couldn't remember the man's name, but she knew that she loved him. More than life itself.

_His voice echoed once again through her mind. "It's a cliché, but there you have it…"_

He hated clichés. And somehow, she got the feeling that he hated her.

_She shrank back. "You're not Jack O'Neill."_

"_And you know who Jack O'Neill is?"_

_She started to get somewhat defiant. "Yes. As a matter of fact I do."_

"_As well as he knew you?" He spat back, laying the trump card on the table._

"_I never meant to hurt you." She whispered, retreating back into her mind. "You're the last person I would want to hurt."_

_He grabbed her wrist and she was pulled from her safe place back into the battleground. "Keep telling yourself that." He whispered, pulling her close as he rocked her back and forth wildly. "Because this is going to be worse than Netu."_

_A sharp pain in her side like a goa'uld pain stick caught her by surprise. She screamed and when she was finished screaming, she inhaled something that smelled like burning flesh. Her head started spinning with dizziness and her stomach started turning with nausea. The pain didn't end, however, like a normal pain stick. It continued, and managed to intensify. "STOP IT JACK!" She yelled through her tears. "PLEASE! JACK!"_

--

"She's going into defib!" Janet announced. "Get the cart!"

Jack just watched in horror. She was dying. She was going to die, and they hadn't resolved any of the issues surrounding their sudden detachment.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I'm sorry that I hurt you." He whispered. "I forgive you. And I want…no, Carter, I NEED you to come back."

--

"_I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I'm sorry that I hurt you." He whispered. "I forgive you. And I want…no, Carter, I NEED you to come back."_

She had floated away before she'd heard those words, walking toward a light. It had entranced her, almost able to force her to follow, but his voice, even just a whisper, had the power to renounce death.

At long last, she heaved a heavy breath entirely on her own.

--

"Stop." Janet said, the paddles of the defibrillator in her hands as the heart monitor picked up a heart beat and the body moved drastically in suggestion of her own animation.

They pulled the wires and tubes from her body as she coughed, breath returning to her previously lifeless body.

"Colonel." She managed.

Janet looked over at the surprised man standing only a few feet away. "She's asking for you, sir."

"Carter."

"You…you saved me." She asserted, eyes firmly shut and body readjusting to its life-filled state.

She went into a dreamless sleep as Janet and Jack exchanged looks of surprise and relief.


	29. Resolution

Sam moved slowly around her house, taking in the mess that had happened inadvertently with her abduction. It drained her to realize that she had been missing for nearly a week. Empty and half-full beer bottles littered the coffee table, indicating the drunken haze that she had been in when the attackers had decided to attack. Inwardly, she chastised herself. She should never have been that vulnerable- even at home. Especially at home. Where she resided alone.

"You gonna be okay?" He asked, leaning against her door as if he was asking whether she wanted him to stay or to go.

"I'm going to be fine." She responded with the hint of a tiny smile.

"Good."

He turned to leave, but she stopped him. "Sir…do you…do you want to get a pizza?"

"Are you asking me to get you one?" He asked, surprised.

"No…I mean…Do you want to come with me and get a pizza?"

"Is this a date?"

"It doesn't have to be."

He looked at her. She still looked so fragile. Whatever drugs they had used against her had left her physically and mentally fatigued and therefore quite a bit weak. "Why not? I mean, I'm retired…no fear of retribution, right?"

She glanced at the floor. "Right."

"What?" He asked, noticing her fallen expression.

"You're not the only one who's retired, Jack."

"Jack?" He asked with one eyebrow raised.

"You're retired."

"Right."

"And so am I."

"You are?"

She nodded. "I figured that it was my mistake that ruined the team, so I should have to face the inevitable consequences. Not you."

"Cart-"

"You can't change my mind." She replied firmly.

"Is that what you think I'm trying to do?"

"Yes."

He was silent for a moment. "Then, you'd be exactly right."

"I thought so."

"Sam…you're brilliant, and the SGC really needs you."

"Jack, I'm sick. I can't concentrate on half of the things that I'm supposed to be concentrating on, and I can't hold my weight on a frontline team anymore." She said, heatedly. "You can. You're a damn good commander and I won't be responsible for the SGC losing its most valuable asset."

"Most valuable asset?" He whispered.

She nodded. "Yes, Jack. You are one the SGC's most valuable assets. They need someone who can talk to them about tactics…who's been in the heat of battle both with this enemy and with the enemies of earth…you can compare our tactics with the tactics of the goa'uld, and that's something that Teal'c just isn't ready to do yet."

"Sam…"

"Look, I'd be out for a few weeks anyway. Just…just think about it. Please."

"And what do you think is going to happen to us?"

She gave a tiny smile. "Well, that's up to us now, isn't it?"

"I don't want to take this too fast."

"Seven years isn't too fast."

"So…"

"So, don't be afraid. If it's too fast, I'll tell you."

"You sure?"

"No."

He was somewhat surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Look, you and I both know that there are no such things as guarantees. But we can act on the intelligence that we have now or we can wait and possibly miss the opportunities that have come our way. There's not necessarily a right or a wrong way to do it…but I think for the last seven years, we've been doing what some might consider the wrong thing."

He nodded in understanding.

"I guess this is our second chance. The opportunity that we have to show everyone that we weren't going down the wrong path, just taking the scenic route around it."

He couldn't help but chuckle.

"You brought me back, Jack. I'm not going to be able to forget that. And…I'm not willing to. I don't want to have the regrets that I might have had if I'd gone then. But that's up to you."

He nodded, deep in thought.

"So…"

"I'm thinking."

She smiled at the reference to the Urgo technology that they had experienced only four years previously.

"Pizza?" He asked, a twinkle in his eye.

"I thought you'd never ask." She said, smiling.


	30. The Surprise

"General Hammond?" Jack asked, knocking on the door a few weeks later.

"Yes, Jack?"

"I…I was wondering…"

"Yes?"

"I was wondering if I could withdraw that resignation."

"What changed your mind?"

"It was an impetuous decision, and I would rather not go into it any further than that."

"I see."

And indeed, he did see. On Jack's left ring finger was a gold band. "Congratulations." He responded.

"Sir?"

"On your return to active duty."

"Thank you, sir."

"And congratulations again."

Jack's brow furrowed. "Sir?"

George motioned with a slight nod of his head to the ring on his finger.

_They had finally gotten all of their feelings out in the open. And, now, they were on a date. Samantha Carter was sitting across from him, her face shining in the darkness of the pizza parlor. _

_"Do you ever feel like you want to just jump tracks in your life?" She asked, spontaneously. _

_"Jump tracks?" _

_"As in suddenly do something no one would ever expect you to do…be impetuous for once." _

_"Can't say that I have." _

_"Oh." She said, looking back down at her pizza. _

_"Why? Do you have something you'd like to do that would be considered spontaneous and even crazy?" _

_"Yeah." _

_"Well, what is it?" _

_"It's stupid. I should never have brought it up." She said, refusing to look him in the eyes. _

_"Carter…" _

_"I want to get married." She whispered, as if on command. _

_"Married?" He asked, surprised. _

_"We're not in the same chain of command…and who knows if we will be again!" _

_"Carter, did you drink a little too much beer?" _

_"I haven't had any beer. Janet's orders." _

_"Okay, then, how many beers have I had?" _

_"Dammit, Jack, you're not drunk and neither am I. But if you really feel that way…" She moved to get up. _

_"Sam…" _

_"Jack, this may be our only chance." _

_He looked into her sorrowful blue eyes. He'd almost lost her. He couldn't lose her again…not to his own stupidity. _

_"Okay…" _

_"Okay, as in you'll think about it?" She asked. _

_"Okay, as in, let's get in the car. If we leave now, we can get to Vegas by tomorrow morning." _

The colonel took a deep breath and nodded. "Thank you, sir."

--

Daniel walked into Sam's lab, his nose buried in a book. "Hey, Sam…it's great to have you back." He said, as he looked up to find a new scientist taking up residence in the lab.

"Hi." He said with an uncomfortable smile as he extended his hand toward the archaeologist. "I'm Dr. James Matthews."

"Dr. Matthews. Uh…where's Major Carter?" Daniel asked as he shook the man's hand.

"She resigned. They called me and offered me the opportunity to head the scientific community here."

"Right." Daniel said, smiling somewhat uncomfortably. "It's been great to meet you…hope you feel right at home!"

The doctor nodded. "Thank you, I'm sure I will…"

"But I have a meeting that I need to get to…if you'll excuse me."

"Sure."

"Thank you."

As he hurried from the lab, he ran into Teal'c. "Daniel Jackson, what is the reason for your haste?"

"Sam's not coming back."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow, his only indication of surprise. "Perhaps she requires more time to rest and recover from her last encounter with the Trust."

"If that were the case, there wouldn't be another scientist moving into her lab!"

"Hey, guys!" Jack greeted as he ran into them at the end of the corridor, his left hand in the pocket of his BDUs. "What's going on?"

"Sam's not coming back!"

"Ah." Jack said, emotionless. "Well, she did need some time off. She says this whole…ordeal has made her think about her life…"

"What?" Daniel asked, surprised. "And you didn't beg her to come back?"

"Danny…I did…believe me, I tried to get her to come back, but…she had other ideas."

"Other ideas?" Daniel asked, his eyebrow raised.

"Look, Danny…how about you come on over to my house, and we'll talk about it…SG-1 is still on stand-down until I can find a replacement for Carter…"

Daniel and Teal'c shrugged. "Why not?"

Only fifteen minutes later, the men arrived at the O'Neill house. Jack opened the door and motioned the men into the living room while he went to the kitchen. There, he found his new bride. "Hey!"

"Jack!"

"I brought home a couple of strangers…think we can find something for them to eat?"

She chuckled as she saw the guys in the living room, puzzling over the nonchalance with which Jack had accepted Sam's resignation. "I think so…" She said, with a thoughtful grin.

As she ducked into the refrigerator to get beer and to see if they had anything on hand that they could feed their guests, Jack put his arms around her waist and swung her back to face him. He kissed her soundly, and she let her arms encircle his neck. He pulled away, leaning his forehead on her own. "I love you, you know that?"

She nodded, smiling. "Yes, I do."

"Hey, Jack, we were thinking that maybe we should call Sam…" Daniel said, as he walked into the kitchen. "Or…we could just let you two get back to whatever you were doing…"

"You're fine, Danny…no harm done…" Jack said, pulling his arms out from around Sam's waist.

"So…you two seem to be okay after the whole…Pete fiasco."

"Better than okay." Jack said with a grin.

"Right." The archaeologist blushed. "And what about the whole POW thing?"

"That wasn't really Jack…and even though it took me a couple of weeks to realize that, I never really forgot how much he cares."

Teal'c joined the group. "Major Carter, it is good to see you feeling so much better."

"Actually, Teal'c, I'm not in the Air Force anymore. You can call me Sam."

"I apologize, Samantha Carter."

"Actually, it's Samantha O'Neill now." She said with a smile as she looked at her husband.

"O'Neill as in…" Daniel motioned between the newlyweds. "You two got married?"

"Yes, Danny…as a matter of fact, we did." Jack said, matter-of-factly.

"But…" Daniel stammered. "HOW?!"

"Actually, Daniel, Elvis married us…" Sam said, with a teasing grin on her face.

"O'Neill, may I inquire as to why you and Samantha did not include your closest friends in this nuptial ceremony?"

"Uh…T…that's a…" Jack stammered, obviously uncomfortable with the question, so Sam answered instead.

"Teal'c, we were tired of waiting…and since we were the only ones around, we went and got married. It had nothing to do with not wanting you, Daniel, Janet, Cassie, or General Hammond to be a part of the ceremony. And, who knows, we might renew our vows so that you can all be there…" She said, with a shrug.

"Only if that's what you want." Daniel countered. "I just…I mean, we're happy for you just…a little…stunned."

Sam smiled as she allowed her hand to find Jack's and interlace her fingers with his. "To be honest, we're a little shell-shocked too, but…we're happy."

"You better believe it." Jack said, before he kissed her.

Both Daniel and Teal'c took this as their cue to leave as the newlyweds were suddenly caught up in a world that was all their own. As the door closed behind them, Daniel grinned. "Well, I guess there's only one phrase that can best describe their love affair."

"What would that be, Daniel Jackson?"

"All's fair in love and war."

Teal'c let his mind chew on this as Daniel started the car and they drove back to the Mountain to share the news with the rest of the base.

* * *

_Yes, this is the end, folks! I'm SO sorry that it has taken SO long for me to finish! I hope you all don't hate me! Reviews are ALWAYS welcome...hope you enjoyed the piece.  
_


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